County: Louth Site name: Drumnasillagh
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A002/106; E3791
Author: Caroline Powell, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Dublin 3.
Site type: Post-medieval agricultural features
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 707761m, N 813871m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.062699, -6.353853
Louth County Council, the Roads Service NI (Department for Regional Development) and the National Roads Authority are currently proposing a road scheme, the A1/N1 Newry–Dundalk road. The route consists of 14.2km of 2-lane dual carriageway with 5.7km of associated link roads from Cloghoge roundabout, south of Newry, to the Ballymascanlan interchange, north of Dundalk. As part of the road development, a number of archaeological and historic sites within the construction zone of the road scheme were determined eligible for excavation before the construction began.
Site 106 was situated on pastureland with a slight east-facing slope, close to the existing A1. Phase 1 testing revealed two potentially significant features in this part of Area 10; Feature 10 was a spread of charcoal-flecked silty soil with stone inclusions, Feature 11 was 13m north of Feature 10 and consisted of a circular spread of ash and charcoal that continued into the northern baulk. In order to investigate the deposits an area measuring 20m by 20m was stripped of topsoil after which several additional potentially significant features were exposed in plan. In the course of the excavation, twenty-seven contexts consisting of ten cuts and sixteen fills or deposits were investigated. All of the excavated features appear to be related to post-medieval agriculture, these include a wall foundation, burnt tree boles, agricultural furrows and a field drain.
Editor’s note: This report arrived too late for inclusion in the bulletin for 2005, when the work took place.
